


Farewell My Love

by Woolverine



Series: Reye Vidal Appreciation Week [1]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 08:19:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11376276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Woolverine/pseuds/Woolverine
Summary: These are the pieces I posted on Tumblr for Reyes Vidal Week. For Day 2 I used Chapter One (Distraction) of Dirty Weekend. They are all HC for my other works here, apart from the Day 7, which is AU.





	Farewell My Love

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place the morning after High Noon.

There was a small glass of angaran fruit liqueur waiting for Reyes on Keema’s table. It was strong stuff, smooth but potent, meant to be sipped. He downed it in one while still standing. Without a word, Keema leaned forward and refilled the glass. Reyes threw himself on the sofa next to the angaran woman. She smelled of smoke and her eyes were rimmed purple with fatigue. He wasn’t in any better condition; he stank of sweat and blood, his face blackened by ash. 

“Fucking animals,” he said eventually, too exhausted to put any force behind his words. 

Keema nodded in agreement wearily. It had been a hard night weeding out diehard Outcasts from Kadara Port. One of them had started a fire in the market, and Collective resources had had to be diverted to prevent the blaze spreading. Keema had led the angaran firefighting efforts. 

“I’m almost glad about that arsonist, Keema. Meant you were spared seeing the worst of the Outcast excesses.” Reyes took her hand and squeezed it. 

“I’ve heard reports. I don’t know how I would have coped, little brother.”

“Fuck, we’ve done some terrible things, but at least we made an effort not to recruit fucking sadists and rapists. Sloane took anyone, ramped them up to max, then let them loose. If I’d known the full extent…. I’d have made this move weeks ago, ready or not.”

Reyes closed his eyes. The horrors he’d seen that night were imprinted on the back of hs eyelids, with a soundtrack of gunfire and screaming. He knocked back the second glassful of liqueur. 

“Have you heard anything from ….?” Keema asked. 

“From Sara? No. I don’t expect to hear from her ever again, Keema.”

“Reyes, why not? She cares for you, I’d swear to it.”

“I’d’ve placed good money on it myself, how she used to feel about me, How she feels now, I don’t know.” 

Reyes grabbed the bottle and poured himself another glassful. 

“I don’t understand how Sara could walk away. What we did, needed to be done. Sloane had to die. Doesn’t she see that?”

“Keema, she spotted the sniper before he took the shot. If she’d wanted, Sara could have saved Sloane. She didn’t, because she knew it was the only way to end the Outcast regime.”  He ran his fingers through his hair, shook his head.

“Then why? Because you didn’t tell her you are the Charlatan? I thought you’d been careful not to lie to Sara about the Collective and our business.” Keema sounded nearly as anguished as he felt, Reyes thought. 

“I was. I should have listened to you, big sister. I should have told Sara. I was too scared of losing her, and now I’ve lost her anyway.”

“Perhaps not. Sara was surprised, angry. When she calms down….”

“The Tempest left as soon as Sara got back on board. Even if she thinks again, her team will advise her against trusting me. Without trust…”

Reyes stared at the booze left in his glass. He was trying not to break down. The fighting and killing had been a welcome distraction from the emptiness expanding inside him.

“I knew it was risky, Keema. I thought… I thought I’d shown Sara enough of who I really am for her to … I don’t know? Understand the need for secrecy? Realise I’d kept her out of it so she wouldn’t be compromised? Fuck that bitch Sloane for dragging Sara along. I’d piss on her corpse if it were still intact.”

Keema put her arm around his shoulders. “What did Sara say?”

Reyes wiped the tears from his eyes. “She said I’d betrayed her trust in me. That I should have confided in her, not let her find out like this. That it made her doubt everything I’d ever said to her. That it made her doubt herself because she should have worked it out.”

The bloodstained images were replaced by ones of Sara’s face, pale and angry. Her voice had been as quiet as Reyes had ever heard it, until she had exploded in rage. When she had stalked off, Reyes had moved to follow after her but Nyx had stroked her gun warningly, and Drack had shaken his head.

“Leave her for now,” the krogan had said. “No speaking to Ryder when she’s this angry.”

“I need to tell….”

“Forget it, Vidal!” Drack had interrupted. “Not today. Probably not even tomorrow, or next week.”

“Maybe not ever,” the turian had added. 

Reyes hunched in on himself. Keema wrapped her arms around him as he shook with silent emotion, tears falling. She stroked his head and made soothing noises, rocking him gently. 

“Reyes, my little brother, I don’t think this is the end for you and Sara. You are meant to be a pair, this is but the desert between you and the oasis.”

“Don’t, Keema, please don’t. I need to accept Sara won’t come back. I need to say goodbye and carry on without her being a part of my life. It’s the only way I can survive.” 

“Then let us make a toast to those we have lost on our path to success, and never grieve for them again, for they will come back to us in future lives.” 

Keema passed Reyes his glass and took up her own. They lifted their drinks in their toast, and drank deeply.

“Farewell, my love,” Reyes murmured. “Travel safe and be well.” 


End file.
